Stories about Arabic from April, 2010
Bahrain: Mideast Tunes Launched
Mideast Youth has launched a new project Mideast Tunes – which is dedicated to providing a platform for emerging musicians in the Middle East. “Our aim is to encourage, inspire and expose talented young artists across the region,” they write.
Egypt: Economic Vegetarians
Red meat prices have risen dramatically in Egypt in recent weeks. Amidst calls for meat boycotts, many Egyptians are being pushed to vegetarianism due to high prices.
Egypt: Let's Shoot those Protesters!
In a debate on recurrent demonstrations, Egyptian ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) members of Parliament lashed out during a verbal battle with Muslim Brotherhood MPs over protesters in the country and said Egyptian pro-democracy demonstrators “should be shot” by police. Bloggers react in this post by Marwa Rakha.
Egypt: Hashish Crisis adds to Nation's Woes
Alongside bread, fuel and cooking gas, Hashish (cannabis) has been added to the list of things which Egyptians are starting to miss. Bloggers argue why this narcotic is the one which will me missed most as prices and poverty continue to rise.
Lebanon: Marching for Secularism
Lebanese Laïque Pride will hold a rally for secularism on April 25. They are a group of citizens who are calling for the full implementation of article (c) of the Lebanese Constitution's preamble: “Respect for the freedom of opinion and belief,” “social justice,” and “equality of rights and duties between...
Saudi Arabia: Poverty and Suicide
Saudi blogger Trad Alasmari (Ar) writes about suicide in Saudi Arabia (Warning: post contains picture of graphic nature). He claims that poverty could be to blame for its higher levels.
Morocco: Formerly Jailed Blogger Bashir Hazzam Tells His Story
Blogging can lead to jail in Morocco. Bashir Hazzam learned it the hard way when the authorities arrested him last December for reporting on the violent events that shook his usually peaceful village. In the following interview, the blogger tells his story.
Israel/Palestine: Will There Ever Be A Deal For Shalit?
Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit has been held by Hamas for nearly four years, with all attempts having failed to get him released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. Blogger "The Other Door", a Palestinian citizen of Israel, gives his perspective on Shalit's ongoing captivity in this post.
Tunisia: Bourguiba 10th Death Anniversary Remembered
Tunisians remembered the 10th anniversary of the death of their country's first president - Habib Bourguiba, who walked their country through independence. Bloggers agree that he may have committed some mistakes, but applaud the changes he has institutionalised in the Tunisian society.
Morocco: Blogger Released from Prison
Bashir Hazzam reports [Ar] on the release from prison of fellow Moroccan blogger Boubker Al-Yadib, arrested earlier this year for his support of other arrested bloggers.
Egypt: Linux InstallFest a Success!
Free Open Source Software (FOSS) is picking up in Egypt, thanks to awareness programmes being organsied by Egyptian Linux Users Group. Tarek Amr sums up reactions to a recent event in this post.
Egypt: Crackdown on Peaceful Pro-Democracy Protests
On the second anniversary of the first call for civil disobedience in the history of modern Egypt, new protests broke out through out the country. Egyptian police violently beat and randomly detained people to disperse protests calling for constitutional reform. Eman AbdElRahman reports.
Saudi Arabia: Someone tried to Hack into my Blog
Saudi blogger Fuad Al Farhan sends out a tweet (Ar) saying that someone tried to hack into his blog and WordPress sent him an alert for resetting his password.
Arab World: iPad Fever Grips Arabia
Quick to purchase the latest gadgets and show them off, some bloggers and Twitter users from the Arab world are doing the iPad justice. Here's what a Saudi student and a Kuwait resident have to say about Apple's new toy.
Bahrain: Defending the Kingdom
Around 5,000 people from Bahrain have joined a Facebook group entitled: You don't deserve to live in a country you don't protect (Ar).
Jordan: Facebook Page for Jordan Blogs
Jordanian blogger Osama Al Romoh (Ar) has created a Facebook page for Jordanian blogs here.
Arab World: Pulling all the Stops for the BoBs
Arab bloggers nominated for the annual Best of the Blogs award (The BoBs) are pulling all the stops, to attract more votes. Who are the nominated bloggers and who will you vote for?
Lebanon: Special Tribunal Monitor
The Special Tribunal for Lebanon Monitor is a blog of the Lebanese Center for Human Rights (CLDH) which publishes daily press reviews, UN documents and similar information related to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon that was set up to try those involved in the assassination of former prime minister Rafic...
Lebanon: Who's the Pervert
Ibrahim Arab writes about the stunned reaction by the Arab youth to the news that Ricky Martin is a homosexual, using the Arabic word شاذ which means pervert or not normal. He comments “your perversion, Ricky Martin, is more merciful than our perversion,” pointing to issues of injustice and crimes...
Lebanon: Sabotage in the University
Lovanlife wrote, in Arabic, about how the commemoration of “Land Day” by the People's Movement, of which he is a member was sabotaged, by rival parties at the University of Lebanon.
Lebanon: ArabNet discussed the future of Arabic web in English
Arabnet 2010 is a tech conference that was held in Beirut recently. While many of the participants considered it a success, there was a major criticism that kept people talking and writing about it days after the conference was concluded. The problem was that while the conference supposedly focuses on Arabic web it adopted English as its official language and the website, discussions, and presentations were all in English.
